Last night, the Senate voted to debate health care legislation after Thanksgiving, in a 60-39 vote along party lines. Two weeks after the House passed its health care legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said, "The road to this point has been started many times. It has never been completed."
The Wasington Post reports, "After days of indecision, the last two Democratic holdouts -- Sens. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) and Mary Landrieu (La.) -- joined their caucus in supporting a motion to begin debate... Like Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), a holdout until Friday, Lincoln and Landrieu said they will press Reid for further changes to the bill before committing to its final passage. Above all, the Democratic caucus remains bitterly divided over a government-run insurance option."
The NY Times adds that their indecision suggests "more horse-trading lies ahead and that major changes might be required if the bill is to be approved" and that Reid may have to convince a Republican to vote for "the Senate bill [which] seeks to extend health benefits to roughly 31 million Americans who are now uninsured, at a cost of $848 billion over 10 years." Also, Landrieu is apparently working—with Senators Thomas Carper (D-Delaware) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) on a version of a public option with more appeal.
Politico outlines the ways health care reform could fall apart—one is the debate over the Stupak amendment.
